body "I'm scared. There's so many people out there," Rini whispered, grabbing Atia's hand as she peered around the curtain.

Atia gave her friend's smaller hand a gentle squeeze. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Rini. Just pretend they're not there."

"Easy for you to say," the girl replied shakily. Atia did notice she was shaking. "You've done this hundreds of times before."

"Everyone starts out somewhere," Atia reminded her. "And besides, I'll be there with you." Rini said nothing, only leaned against her.

"Atia! Come on, kiddo, let's get," Valen said, coming up behind her and poking her shoulder.

"Coming, Val. Rini, Trista'll be here soon; until then, Autumn'll be here with you." Atia let go of her hand and followed Valen's light blue hair onto the stage.

"Good luck, Atia!" Rini and Autumn called. The older girl looked over her shoulder and winked.

Here goes, Atia thought, walking in front of Ben and turning around, crossing her arms in the opening move.

Ben glanced over at his shoulder and her and winked. Atia smiled, glad for reassurance. She glanced around her, eyes resting on the pipelines that would soon be spitting out a pyro. Suddenly she heard Lance yelp, "Atia, Ben, the pyro's screwed up! Look! If you guys do that one front tuck on this dance, you'll go right through it and fry yourselves!"

"We can't stop the recital," the girl replied uneasily. "And I can't change the dance."

"You've got to be kidding me! Atia, you can't go through that pyro any more than I can!" Ben said warningly.

As they heard the academy's manager speaking, Atia closed her eyes. "We don't have a choice, Ben. And it's just sparks, not real fire. We'll be fine."

*

The curtains rose, and Atia sighed in frustration. This was it; she was hidden from Luna and Artemis no longer. She heard the music and moved automatically, watching her classmates before her. She whirled around and knew what Rini had meant by a large crowd. But she was used to larger.

She smiled reflexively. This was where she belonged. The stage was her home. With that, her dismay of Luna and Artemis vanished, and she loosened up. Her movements weren't stiff and jerky as they had been seconds ago; now she flowed with the music.

The music hit a chord, and she closed her eyes briefly. The next thing Atia knew, her hands hit the ground sharply as she started the routine that would throw both her and Ben through the pyro. She thought as she wove her way backwards.

The pyro pipelines crossed around the front of the stage, leaving five feet of extra space. Her class was supposed to be a safe distance behind that pipeline and in front of another one in the back, not to mention the two on the side. She and Ben would be pausing just before the pipeline the in front to do their tucks, and apparently, as Lance had calculated, go through the pyro and land on the other side while the others were closed from view. Not bad for a close-up, she thought wryly.

As she stopped thinking, Atia found herself with her back to her classmates and facing the pipeline, hands coming up to throw herself forward. She saw Enaio, Lance, and Trever glance at her out of the corner of her eye, frantically trying to make her stop with expressions. But she ignored them as her hands whistled past her ears, jammed back to her sides, as her feet left the ground.

She elongated herself to clear the pipeline and was almost across it, eyes resting on the audience as her back was over the pipeline. And then she heard the pipeline surge, then felt the sparks fly into her back, propelling her faster to her feet than she had planned. The sailor managed to land on her feet in a crouching position, pain dancing down her back in waves.

But the dance wasn't over yet.

She did a side-aerial and found herself side-by-side with Ben. Now they were stuck in front of the pipeline. Glancing up at him, she saw him noticing it as well. "Skip the back handsprings and spin out, then in," she hissed furiously, hoping he'd heard her in the speed of the words.

As she whirled around, she saw Ben doing the same, then turned back in and did a back tuck, landing carefully in his arms. It was over.

The applause made the pyro worth the effort. Shaking, Ben set her down, and they bowed a couple times before jumping back over the pipeline and going offstage with the rest of the class.

Once off-stage, Atia dropped with Ben to her knees. Her back was killing her, and there was still countless hours ahead of her.

*

Luna and Artemis knew something as wrong the moment they stepped into the building. A familiar prescience was wafting, and it made their backs puff. When the curtain opened, they were furious. They couldn't do anything because they knew the senshi didn't know, but there was no mistaking her unnatural skills.

"Damn."

*

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, are you guys okay??" Raven cried, kneeling between them.

"I think so." Ben peeled his shirt off over his back, wincing as the air touched it. It was mostly burns, not bleeding sores, but it still hurt. "Dang. Atia, are you alright?"

She was silent for a moment, quivering a little. "I'll be fine."

A hand on her shoulder made her look up. "Atia, get up. I'll help you."

Atia grabbed Trista's hand and let her friend pull her to her feet. "I'll be out in a minute, guys."

*

"You weren't supposed to do that, were you?" Trista asked evenly. "No. I need to get changed. Hand me that black top," Atia said, pulling her shirt over her head as Trista handed her a new one. Atia's back to her, Trista stared at the scores of burns on her back and felt sorry for the boy. "He'll be fine." Atia tugged impatiently at the black leather, finally getting it over her head as she tossed her shoes off and ducked behind a screen, digging through piles of clothes before emerging in a pair of low-cut pants that weren't really pants at all.

There were like bell-bottoms, only see-through. She wore a black bloomer (ask a cheerleader) beneath the criss-crossed fabric. The rest of it was like extremely wide-cut black panty-hose.

Atia sank wearily to the ground, trying to catch her breath. She looked up at Trista and smiled. "Isn't it ironic?" Trista rose an eyebrow. "I taught all the senshi in the Silver Millennium, now here I am, teaching the princess of the twenty-first century."

In the blink of an eye, Trista was on her knees before Atia and hugging her tightly. "Please, don't say that. You're not in the twenty-first century. You're not in Crystal Tokyo. Something's going to happen to you, Atia."

"I know." Atia closed her eyes briefly. "I know."

*

Ben took her arm when she walked out of the dressing room and turned her around. She didn't protest as he swept her hair off of her back. He shook his head. "They moved the pipelines."

"Too late," Atia muttered.

"Agreed. Here, this stuff is supposed to help." Ben picked up a jar of gel-like stuff that Jeff had brought to him. The medication had hurt so bad he'd shouted and jumped the entire time. As his hand touched Atia's back with the gel, he felt her stiffen and heard her inhale sharply. "I'm sorry."

Atia said nothing, and Trista walked up to her. The girl relaxed, grabbed her friend's hand for reassurance. As the gel touched one of the worse burns, Atia's grip on Trista's hand tightened, but she said nothing.

Finally Ben put the jar down, and Atia sighed in relief. "Thank you." She reached over and grabbed a white blouse, pulling it over her black halter top, then slinging a pair of pull-off jeans around her waist.

"Advanced intermediate, you're up!" the stage-hand called, walking over to the group.

"Good luck," Trista said with a smile.

"Thanks."

*

Atia could see the pyro lines had been moved and glanced at Raven with a smile. The black-haired girl had been truly frightened by her feat. She smiled back. "No more pyro jumping?"

"No more pyro jumping."

The curtain lifted, and Atia walked out from behind the stage, holding her microphone loosely. "I need...time. Love. Joy. I need...space. Love. I need...me."

"Action!!" Trever shouted, and the group came to life.

"Say hello to the girl that I am. You're gonna have to see through my perspective. I need to make mistakes just to learn who I am. An' I don't wanna be so damn protected. There must be another way 'cause I believe takin' chances but who am I to say? what a girl is to do God I need some answers..." as the chorus came in, she whipped off the blouse but left on her jeans. Out of the five girls, she was the only one who could be persuaded to do the act and actually dance half-naked in front of such a large crowd - despite the fact that the cameras loved it.

Halfway through the song, she lost the jeans as well. She could see the cameras zooming on her and smiled. She loved cameras.

*

Three performances later, Atia was all but dragging Rini onto the stage. "Rini, if I can go out there and strip to something that resembles my bikini, you can certainly come out here with me and dance and sing."

Rini was almost crying.

"Small Lady, it's okay. You'll love it," Trista coaxed. "I was frightened at first too." She wasn't in this act but was trying to level with the girl.

Ashani walked by, her younger dance partner with her. "Nice selection, Atia."

"Shut up, Ashani. Just because she's better than you doesn't mean she can't be afraid," Atia snapped.

"Who are you to judge who's better than who?!"

"I'm the best dancer in this academy! I believe I can tell who's good and who totally sucks!"

"If I totally suck, then why am I in the advanced class?!"

"Because you bribed Mr. Keioni," Atia said simply.

"Why-"

"Girls! Girls, come on, now's not the time for this!" Ben and Jeff both came up to intercept the fight. Jeff pulled Ashani onto the stage while Ben grabbed Atia's shoulder. "Not now, Atia, please?"

Atia shot a glare over her shoulder. "She started it."

"She probably did, but if the manager comes back here and finds you two fighting, you're as good as dead. I gotta go; some primary kid cut himself on a hanger." He rolled his eyes as Atia laughed. "Break a leg, kiddo." Ben ruffled Rini's hair, then turned and jogged back the way he had come.

Atia leaned down so she was eye to eye with the girl, whose eyes had turned to hearts. "Isn't he cute?"

"Yeah..."

"He's my dance partner, you know."

"What?!" Rini was loosened up now, and Atia quickly got her lined up with the stage without her knowing. Suddenly the music kicked on, and Rini yelped in surprise as Atia did front handsprings out onto the stage. Hearing the part where she came in, Rini found herself doing back walk-overs onto the stage.

The music paused, and Rini turned to face the audience. Her mouth went dry as Atia's voice came over the PA - "Three, two, one, hit it!" The girl's red eyes found the senshi, and she felt increasingly nervous at the sight of the two glaring felines. Then she looked at Darien, and he smiled reassuringly. She smiled back a little, then hesitantly moved along in the dance.

She closed her eyes. She could imagine the crowd gone and swung full out into her moves. It felt good. A part came where she had to look, and she opened her eyes regretfully. To her surprise, she no longer felt so afraid. She smiled a camera that zoned in on her, then worked her way to the center of the stage.

The music squealed to a halt again, and this time Rini shot a preppy, almost disgusted, look at the girl beside her. "Honey, you're just not gonna cut the bill." With that, she started a short rap session, occasionally harmonized by Atia. Maybe this isn't so hard after all.

*

Luna would've paled if she were a human. Seeing Atia and Trista on the same stage made her head swim with memories. She remembered this dance. It was one of the last ones they had preformed before the destruction of the Silver Millennium. It seemed incomplete to her, however, without the other three to back them up. Their voices seemed logged with sorrow and loneliness, though nobody else seemed to notice.

There was a low whistle from Lita. "I never knew Trista could sing like that. She's amazing."

"She and Atia work so well together. Whatever dance training Atia's had, Trista's had it too, look. They're so much better than everyone else," Amy agreed quietly.

"Their voices are beautiful together," Raye whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"I never knew Trista was so outgoing," Mina murmured. "I mean, look at her. She seems so happy up there, like she's done this before."

Darien nodded with a smile. "It's like Atia's arrival totally changed her. I must admit, it's nice to see her happy for once." Mina agreed quietly.

Amara rubbed her eyes. Was her mind playing tricks on her? She'd seen them dancing somewhere before. A gentle hand touched her shoulder, and she looked at Michelle. Her cousin's eyes were full of nervousness, verifying that she sensed it too. This was just too weird.

*

The mouthful of cola that was in Raye's mouth threatened to loose all over the chair in front of her as Serena and Atia walked onto the stage. "OhmyGod!"

"She never said she was actually in the program!" Mina agreed with a freaked out expression.

Luna's eyes narrowed. This would be interesting.

*

"Not nervous, are you?" Atia teased as they waited for the stage to clear.

"No, just excited. I never told the others that I was in the dance. This is going to be fun, I just know it is!" Serena replied excitedly.

Atia laughed. "It sure is. Come on, let's go."

The sight of the crowd didn't even faze the girl. She smiled widely, feeling almost at home. She counted the beats in the measure, saw Atia move out of the corner of her eye, then moved herself, then paused. The lights flared off, then back on, and she began moving.

The shiny black spandex pants that they wore almost made it hard to dance. But Serena was used to them now and had grown to like the way they moved with her. She could hardly remember the last time she had had so much fun. When she glanced up at Atia during one part of the dance, the girl's eyes were closed, but she was smiling. Her joy was as obvious as Serena's was, and she was not afraid to exaggerate her moves.

Serena got a little nervous as she turned to face Atia, who gave a slight nod and an encouraging smile. The blonde took a deep breath, bent her knees, and did a standing backhand-spring back-tuck. When her feet hit the ground for the final time, she turned to look at the cameras and winked, then blew kisses and exited the stage with Atia.

*

It was the last song of the night. When the curtains rose for the final time, there was no one there. The music started, and there was a sudden explosion of smoke and light as the advanced intermediate class came out for the final act, Atia leading the way and holding a microphone. Despite the fact she'd been singing and dancing for countless hours, she wore a smile and a peppy attitude that none could deny her.

"Remember me
Remember me

"Find myself all alone
In darkness without you
Now I can't turn away
From what I must do
You know I'd give my life for you
More than words can say
I've shown you how to love someone
I know you'll find a way..." Her astoundingly strong voice never faltered as she sang the song. It was obvious she was singing from her heart, and the words were full of meaning.

Chorus:
"Say goodbye
Close your eyes
Remember me
Walk away
The sun remains
Remember me

"I'll live on somewhere in your heart
You must believe
Remember me

"No way I can change my mind
I don't have the answers
If you could see through my eyes
You'd let go of your fears
And though I have to leave you now
With the thought of each other
I'll miss your touch
You call my name
I am with you forever..."

Chorus

"With the change we can't explain
Remember me

"I'll live on somewhere in your heart
You must believe
Remember me

"You know I'd give my life for you
More than words can say
I showed you how to love someone
I know you'll find a way..."

Chorus

"Be there to watch over you
Remember me
Feel I'm gone
My heart lives on
Remember me

"Don't you think of this as the end
I'll come into your dreams
Remember me

"Close your eyes......
Say goodbye.........
Remember me
Say you will(3x)

"Close your eyes
Remember me
Say you will(3x)

"Say goodbye
Remember me!"

After the initial applauding and cheering, Atia and Ben flounced back onto the stage. "Hey everyone!" Atia called happily, waving.

"Well, this wraps up the night. We thank you all for coming and hope you had a good night. If anyone needs to speak with any one of the dancers or singers here tonight, we're all backstage," Ben said, smiling.

"Thanks for being such a great audience! Love ya!"

"Good-night, Tokyo!" they both shouted over the screaming audience.

Atia and Ben turned off their microphones and began talking, still on-stage. Ben said something that made Atia start. Then she started dancing around in particularly goofy manner, right hand behind her head and her left on her left knee. She stood only on her right foot. The dancer brought her right elbow and left knee towards each other, then parted them and turned in a 90? circle with her eyes crossed. She continued to do so while Ben laughed and cameras flashed. Within seconds, though, he had joined her.

Laughing, they stopped and began dancing around goofily, some of which included Ben doing the robot and Atia doing a country line-dance. After around fifteen minutes or so, the ebony curtains closed with a swoosh, hiding the guffawing partners from sight.

It was then that full meaning of the song hit the senshi. Something, something dark, was yet to happen.

And not a one was looking forward to it.